The High Court on Tuesday commuted the death sentences of seven members of the banned extremist outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami Bangladesh in the case of 2001 Ramna Batamul blast that killed 10 people during Pahela Baishakh celebrations in Dhaka.
The court reduced the death sentence of Huji leader Moulana Mohammad Tajuddin to life term imprisonment, while each of the remaining six condemned convicts was given 10 years鈥� rigorous imprisonment.
The six whose sentences were commuted to 10 years are Moulana Akbar Hossain, Hafez Jahangir Alam Badar, Moulana Abu Bakar, Mufti Shafiqur Rahman, Mufti Abdul Hye and Arif Hasan.
Top Huji leader Mufti Abdul Hannan was among eight convicts, who had initially been sentenced to death by the lower court in the Ramna Batmul blast case. Hannan was executed on April 13, 2017 in another case filed in connection with killing three people and injuring the then British high commissioner to Bangladesh and a dozen others in Sylhet on May 21, 2004.
The High Court also upheld the life term sentence of Huji leader Shahadat Ullah Jewel, who had among six others accused received life term sentences from the lower court for the Ramna Batmul murder case.
The High Court, however, reduced the life imprisonment sentences of the three Huji leaders, Abu Taher, Moulana Sabbir and Moulana Shawkat Osman, to 10 years鈥� rigorous imprisonment in connection with the conspiracy to carry out the attack.
The court cleared murder charges of the remaining two life sentence recipients, Moulana Rouf and Hafez Moulana Yahiya. Both of them died awaiting hearing of death reference.
A bench of Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice Nasreen Akter delivered the verdict after rejecting the death references of the eight Huji convicts and dismissing appeals filed by all 14 convicted Huji members.
Deputy attorney general Sultana Akhter Rubi told reporters that the state would file an appeal against the reduction of sentences for the 11 surviving convicts.
On April 14, 2001, during the Chhayanat鈥檚 Bengali New Year celebrations at Ramna Batamul, a bomb blast left nine people dead on the spot. Another died at a hospital later.
Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami exploded several bombs planted at Ramna Batamul, the venue of a Chhayanaut event to mark the Bengali New Year. Ten people were killed and more than 50 were injured in the explosions.
Two cases, one for murder and another for using explosives, were filed with the Ramna police station after the incident.
Dhaka鈥檚 second additional metropolitan sessions judge ruled on June 23, 2014 in the murder case.
Eight people, including Mufti Hannan, the top leader of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami, were sentenced to death and six others to life term imprisonment.
The death references and appeals of the convicts were kept waiting for a hearing in the HC.
Lawyers Mohammad Shishir Manir defended most of the convicts.